Automatic mechanism for operating gates, doors, &amp;c.



G. IVIERZ. AUTOMATIC IVIE-CHANISIVI FOR OPERATING GATES. SEMES. c.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.8, |919.

Patented May 17, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

G. MERZ. AUTOMATIC MECHANISM FOR OPERATING GATES` DOORS, am.

APPLICATION FILED AUGAS, l99.

Patented May 17, 1921.

2 SHTS-SHEET 2.

VIII/l1 570'.'

WITH ESSES Unirse STATES PATENT OFFICE GOTTLIEB/ MERZ, or MGKEESPORT, rnnnsYLvi-iiiia.

AUTOMATIC MEoHANisii/i Foie ornitn'riiveenins; noons, ae...y

application inea Augustv 8,1919. 'serial in. $163,680. L f

To aZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GOTTLIEB Manz, a resident Voi Mcleesport, in the county or" Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, haye is automatically opened and closed without the driver of the vehicle leaving his seat.

The object of the invention is to yprovide mechanism for this purpose which is reliable in operation, simple in construction and entirely automatic.

More specifically the invention relates to mechanism by means of which the gate is automatically opened, looked in open position and automatically closed by mechanism which is set into operation by a wheel of the vehicle passing over actuating members or plates located in the driveway or roadway on opposite sides of the gate. y

The invention will be described more particularly for opening and closing gates, but it will be understood that it can be 'applied for opening and closing doors or any similar structure.' v

The invention comprises the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed. Y y

In the accompanying drawingsA Figure 1 is a vvertical section taken longitudinally of the roadway and showing the gate actuating mechanism in side elevation; Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2 2, Fig. 1; Figs. 3 and 11 are horizontal sections taken respectively on the lines 3 -3 and 1 -4, Fig. l; Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view on the line 5 5, Fig. 2; and Figs. 6,7 and 8 are rear side elevations showing the different positions of the locking mechanism. The gate actuating mechanism is" contained in a suitable box or casing buried or constructed in the roadway lat one side thereof, andv which box maybe constructed of any suitable material which caribe embedded in the roadway or may be formed of concrete directly in place. In the drawings 1 indicates the box, 2 its bottom-'or floor, and 3 its cover orl top. The gatefinay be of any suitable form of swinginggate, onejtormbeingV shown at '4, hinged or pivoted at 5 to a stationary post 'set at'the `si'deof the roadway Tationejsifdeof thebox 1 and which'can be` 'anchored or bracedin any lsuitable way.

In the chamber vof the box, just inside ,of the vpost V61s a vertical cylinder 7, whose Specification' ofLetters Patent. Pgyijfgnted 17, l19.21. I

axis is in line with the axisjof thef'end' post 8 of'v the gate. Vertically movable, inthe cylinder 7 is a heavy body 0r plungerQ, provided on i diametrically opposite/,sides with spiral groovesV` 105which are engaged by'pi'nsl or'other"suitable'jmeinbers11 extending through the walls' of the cylinder 7, Vso that `when the plunger 9 is lifted, itis also given a rotary movement through an l angle of ninety degrees. yThe foot of' .the

gateend post Swis squarefor'of other" nonlcircular form and iits in 'a' 'correspondingly shaped'hole'in thebo'dy '9so that as the lat,- ter is lifted and rotates, it `slidesupwardly on the gate post 8 and rotatesfthe latter with it, thus swinging the'fgate 'tofopen posi-` tion,- and' when said memberjQfdrops, the reitferse movement takes place', closing the ga e. l

' In the cylinder 7,l underneath the. plunger 9 is a lifting member 12, Awhich preferably will be attached to the plunger 9 by means which connect vthe'two Atogether but permits the plunger 9 to rotate, such as by a ball and socket connection, shown at 13.- By this construction the weight ofthe lifting member 12 is added to that of the body `9,

and the combined weight of the `two will be suiticientto cause the gate tofbe closedlby the downwardA members.'

The liftingmember a slotted lug 14 to which is pivoted, at 15, a bar 16 arranged to have alimited roc-king'ior tilting movement relative tothe liftingmember 12, suchtilting movement beinglimited by the engagement of thel bar 16 with the bottom face of the'liftingmember. The bar 16,V extends inopposite directions'through slots 1 8V inthe walls kof the v"cylinder 7 Yand has pivotally connectedfatitsgravity movement of these i v12 is provided withv l 'l ends the .oppositely y extending )actuating levers 20 and 20a,;the speciiicconstruction illustrated showing. the ends Vot bar `16l turned upwardlv, and having the innerends of the levers .20, 20a connected lthereto Vby slot and. pincognnections .21. Levers 20'and 20a' are fulcrumed at 22, 'on' suitable supi ports 2,3= rising from' the .lOOr of the-box 1, this flulcr'umY connection valso ,preferablylbeing 'slottdtoV allowlimited longitudinal movements to the levers 20 and 20a. The outer end of leach lever has pivotally connected to it, at 24, a vertical rod 25, said rods at their upper ends carrying actuating members vor plates 26`and 26'a which project up through the top of the box and are substantially flushv with the same,and which are of sufficient size to*y allow avehicle wheel to depress the same. TheV rods 25 extend downwardly and are provided with adj-ustable end portion's27, preferably threaded to the rods 25, and which serve as stops t0v con-V .tact with the bottom 2 of the box and limit the downward movement of the actuating members 26, 26a. v r

It is apparent from the mechanism described that when either one of the operating plates 26, 26a is depressed,4 such as by a vehicle wheel coming on top of the same, the movement is transmitted through lever 20 or 20a, as the case may be,.to the bar 16, which is given a slight rocking or tilting movement until it contacts with the lower face 16 of the lifting member, after which the lifting member 12 and the weighted plunger l9 are lifted in cylinder 7, and by reason of the spiral grooves 10engaged by pins 11, said plunger 9 is caused to rotate as it moves upwardly, thus also rotating the gate end post 8 and swingingthe gate 4 on its hinges, thus opening the gate, and

that when the pressure onthe actuatingplate 26 or 26EL is released,rthe ponderous bodies 9 and 12 fall by gravity, thus causing a reverse rotary movement of plunger 9 and gate 4, thus closing the latter.

Itis however necessary .to lock the gate in open positionvvuntil the vehicle has passed through it, and then unlock the same to permit it to close, and effect thisl unlocking from the opposite one of the actuating plates. v The following mechanism is provided for this purpose: Secured to the rocking or'V tilting member 16 is a frame member 23, to whichare pivoted, at 29,",a pair of oppositelyfarranged locking dogs 30v andBO, whichhave hook shapedupper ends copera'ing with short studs'31 projecting from a plate 32 secured near the upper end of the cylinder 7. A loop member 33 is secured to the 'ends of this plate' and lies on the outside'ef the upper ends of the Vhooked ends of the dcgs, to guide the` latter. ,"The upper vend of each of these dogs is provided with a cam shaped slot 34 through which the pin 31 can pass, and with an outer cam shaped face ,35j The lower ends Yof these dogs are counter-weighted, as shown at 35a andv lie adjacent to pins or lugs V36V L rojecting from the' ends of the tilting bar 16. v

The normal position of these parts is shownin Fig; 1, thisindicatingthe position when the gate is closed. We .will assume .that a vehicle is coming in `such .direction that its front wheel will pass over the actuating plate 26, thus depressing the latter and rocking the lever 20. The first effect of the upward movement of the inner eneL of lever 20 causes the bar 16 to tilt, lifting its lcfthand Vend until said lever comes in Contact with the bottom face of the lifting member 12, whereupon further movement lifts said member 12, and with it the plunger 9, thus swinging the gate to lopen position. The initial tilting movement of ybar16 carries with it the frame member 26 'and dogs 30 and 30, swinging the upper ends of said dogs toward` the right. This brings the upper ends of said dogs in the position shown frein the rear in Fig. 6, so that when they Lise with the lifting member 12, the outer cam face 35 of dog 30 is in IContact with its pin 31, whereas the cam groove 34 of dog 36 is in position to pass `.over its pin'31. such position that as. soon as the vehicle This brings the parts to wheel'releases the actuating plate` 26 the `mechanism tends to drop slightly, wherecause a slight rocking movement of bar16 and frame 28 inthe opposite direction from .which it was rocked in the beginning, thus causing the pin 36 to press upon the lower end of the dog 30l and disengage its' hooked 105 end from the lugl 31, to the position shown from the rear in F 8, whereupon as soon as the vehicle wheels pass off the. actuating plate 26the parts Vfall by gravity rto lowermost position,-thus swinging the gate to closed position'. g r" Y y i i In case the vehicle' should come from the opposite direction, exactly the same operations are effected as above described, except that the lever 20a is iirst actuated, which 115 tilts or'recks the bar 16 and frame 28 in the .opposite directicn from that described, so that when the parts are fully lifted it is the dog 30 which. makes hoeked engagement with its lug 31, instead of the dog 30a as before 120 described; and when .the vehicle has passed through the gate the pressure of its wheels comingon the actuating plate 26 actuates lever'20ayto unlock dog 30 from its' lug 31.

It Awill thus be-seen that the mechanism is entirely automatic, it merely being necessary to guide the vehicle so that its wheel runs over the actuating plate on the approaching side of the gate to set the mechanism in oper- @if/i011 t0 Swine the sete to Open position, 13a

where it becomes locked; and when thervehicle has passed through the gate one of the y wheels is guided over the actuating plate on the leaving side of thel gate, thus releasing the locking dog and allowing the parts to fall by gravity and thereby swing the gate to closed position.

The actuating plates 26, 26a will obviously be located at such distances on opposite sides of the gate as to permit the gate to swing to open position without coming in contact with the vehicle, and will be made of such size that the wheel can depress the same to a suflicient extent to effect the operation of the parts.

Various changes can obviously be made in theform and construction of the parts. rIlhe various pivotal connections can if desired or necessary be provided with anti-friction bearings to reduce friction. Likewise the pins 11 which proj ect into the spiral grooves l() can be provided with rollers to reduce friction.

I claim:

l. In combination with a swinging gate or the like, of a pair of actuating members located on opposite sides of the gate and arranged to be operated by the vehicle, operating connections therefrom to the gate and so arranged that the actuation of either of said members swings the gate to openposition, a pair of locking dogs, and a tilting member associated with said operating-connections and said locking dogs and arranged to be tilted in one direction by the actuation of one of said actuating members to bring' -one of said dogs into locking position and the other into idle position and to be tilted in the opposite direction by the movement ofthe other actuating member to release the locking dog.

2. In combination with a swinging gate or the like, of a pair of actuating members located on opposite sides of the gate and arranged to be operated by the vehicle, avertically movable member connect-ed to the lgate to swing the same when said member moves up or down, operating mechanism between the'actuating vmembers and said vertically movable member and including a tilting member pivotally connected to the vertically movable member and arranged to y i be tilted in opposite directions on the initial movements of said actuating members respectively, locking means associatedV with said tilting member and arranged to be brought into lockingV position when said member is tilted in one direction and to be released when saidl tilting member is tilted in the oppositek direction, and'automaticvr ing member pivotally connected to the ver- Y tically movable member and arranged to be tilted in opposite directions on the initial movements of said actuating members respectively, a pair of locking dogs pivotally connected to said tilting member, lugs with which said dogs engage when lifted, and cam faces on said dogs to guide the same into and out of locking position relative to their lugs.

4. In combination with L swinging gate or the like, of a pair of actuating members located on opposite sides of the gate and arranged to be operated by the vehicle, a'member slidably connected to the gate and arranged to move vertically, cam slots and projections arranged to rotate said member when it moves vertically and thereby swing i the gate, operating connections between both of said actuating members and said vertically movable member, a lock arranged to lock the gate in open position, and means associated with sai-d sliding member and so arranged that the actuation of said sliding member by either actuating member releases said lock.- v

5.. In combination with a swinging gate or the like, of an actuating member located on each side of said gate and arranged to be operated by a vehicle, a vertically movable weiglited plunger having sliding connection with the gatev end post, a cylinder in which said plunger moves, spiral interengaging connections between sai-d'cylinder and plunger, whereby said plunger is caused to rotate as it moves up and down, operating connections between both of said actuating members and said weighted plunger for lifting the latter, a lock arranged to lock the gate in open position, and means operated *fromy either lactuating member forreleasing Witness: i

E. M. TRICH.

iio 

